The invention disclosed herein pertains generally to male impotency therapy and in particular to a device for transferring an elastic restrictor ring to the base of the penis when the penis extends into a vacuum cylinder which has been used to induce an erection.
Vacuum devices have been widely used to obtain an artificial erection by inducing flow of blood into the penis. After the erection is obtained as a result of the penis being exposed to negative pressure, an elastic ring or rubber band is slid off of the vacuum cylinder and onto the base of the penis to trap the blood in it. Vacuum devices for inducing an erection are described in several patents including U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,744,486 and 4,856,498. A typical vacuum erection inducing device comprises a cylinder that has one open end which can be slid over the flaccid penis with the rim of the cylinder pressed tightly against the body tissue in the pubic area surrounding the base of the penis. The force applied to the cylinder must be sufficient to effect a satisfactory vacuum seal. Concurrently with this condition being obtained, a vacuum pump is actuated to create a vacuum or negative pressure in the cylinder chamber. The differential between the subject's blood pressure and the negative pressure in the cylinder chamber results in arterial blood flowing into the penis with sufficient force to stiffen it. Before the negative pressure or vacuum can be relieved, it is necessary to apply a restrictor to the base of the penis for preventing outflow of venous blood and instantaneous loss of the erection. If a ring having appropriate elastic force is applied, the erection may be maintained for as much as thirty minutes after exposure to the vacuum environment is discontinued. It is customary for the restrictor to comprise a rubber band or elastic ring which is stretched to fit over the outside diameter of the cylinder at its distal end, that is, adjacent the end or rim of the vacuum cylinder which is pressed against the tissue in the pubic area to effect the vacuum seal. U.S. Pat. No. 4,539,980, issued to John L. Chaney on Sep. 10, 1985 depicts and describes a restrictor ring which is ideal for use in conjunction with a vacuum cylinder. The term restrictor ring as used herein is intended to be generic to rubber bands as well as rings or bands composed of other elastic materials.
When the vacuum cylinder is used to obtain an erection by a male who has firm tissue in the pubic area, the rim of the vacuum cylinder will only make a small annular dent in the tissue. As a result of this ideal condition, it is usually fairly easy to slide the restrictor ring off the distal end of the cylinder by use of the fingers on one or both of the hands. However, when the subject is obese or otherwise has poor muscle tone, the tissue in the pubic area is soft and easily distendible. In such case, when the rim of the cylinder is pressed against the tissue, the rim forms a deep annular groove in the tissue before a good enough seal is created to justify activating the vacuum inducing pump. At this time, of course, the restrictor ring will be stretched onto the outside of the vacuum cylinder in readiness for being pushed off and applied to the base of the penis when the desired vacuum and erection have been obtained. A serious problem may arise at this juncture in the cases where the tone of the tissue in the pubic area is poor. In such cases when the vacuum is created, the rim of the cylinder is drawn more deeply in the groove and tissue immediately surrounding the base of the penis is caused to extend as much as one and one-half inches in some cases into the vacuum tube. Now, before the restrictor ring can be pushed off the rim of the vacuum tube it is necessary for the male to get his fingers under the overlaying flabby tissue to push the ring off. This results in the finger tips digging into the tissue and is very painful for a user. The body tissue is often bruised such that colored spots, indicative of subcutaneous hemorrhaging, occur around the penis. The situation is aggravated in some cases as a result of the entanglement of the finger tips in the restrictor ring with the pubic hair. The seriousness of the problem can be inferred from reports by users that it may take them up to four minutes to get the ring applied to the base of the penis. They also report that during the restrictor ring transfer maneuver, the vacuum seal is sometimes broken in which case the erection is lost and the whole procedure has to be repeated.
The invention disclosed herein eliminates the problems just discussed.